Superconductor ADC Design for High Precision and Dynamic Range
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Summary
Problems
Superconductor ADCs face challenges in achieving high-gain linear amplification due to the impracticality of semiconductor amplifiers at cryogenic temperatures, limiting the dynamic range and precision of subranging ADCs.
Innovation solutions
A subranging ADC architecture using delta modulators with phase modulation-demodulation (PMD) and sigma-delta modulators, coupled with digital amplification and filtering, to achieve high-gain linear differential amplification and reduce the required gain factor, enabling accurate cancellation of quantization noise and nonlinearity.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If semiconductor amplifiers are used for high-gain linear amplification in subranging ADCs, then the dynamic range and precision are improved, but the impracticality at cryogenic temperatures limits their use
Why choose this principle:
The patent replaces semiconductor amplifiers (electronic system) with a digital signal processing system operating in the digital domain. The digital amplifier uses digital logic circuits to perform amplification functions that were traditionally accomplished by analog semiconductor amplifiers, thereby avoiding the temperature limitations of semiconductor devices at cryogenic conditions.
Principle concept:
If semiconductor amplifiers are used for high-gain linear amplification in subranging ADCs, then the dynamic range and precision are improved, but the impracticality at cryogenic temperatures limits their use
Why choose this principle:
The patent introduces a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and analog subtractor as intermediary components between the digital domain and analog domain. The coarse ADC output is converted back to analog form, subtracted from the original analog input signal, and the residue is amplified through digital gain adjustment before being processed by the fine ADC. This intermediary approach enables high-gain linear amplification without requiring cryogenic-compatible semiconductor amplifiers.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A subranging ADC architecture using delta modulators with phase modulation-demodulation (PMD) and sigma-delta modulators, coupled with digital amplification and filtering, to achieve high-gain linear differential amplification and reduce the required gain factor, enabling accurate cancellation of quantization noise and nonlinearity.
Abstract
Superconductor analog-to-digital converters (ADC) offer high sensitivity and large dynamic range. One approach to increasing the dynamic range further is with a subranging architecture, whereby the output of a coarse ADC is converted back to analog and subtracted from the input signal, and the residue signal fed to a fine ADC for generation of additional significant bits. This also requires a high-gain broadband linear amplifier, which is not generally available within superconductor technology. In a preferred embodiment, a distributed digital fluxon amplifier is presented, which also integrates the functions of integration, filtering, and flux subtraction. A subranging ADC design provides two ADCs connected with the fluxon amplifier and subtractor circuitry that would provide a dynamic range extension by about 30-35 dB.